Measuring length of driver.

[Maverick]

When they say 45" is the STANDARD length for men's drivers is that measurement of the shaft before it goes into the head? OR is the measurement taken from the base of the driver head (the part touching the ground) to the tip of the grip? or?

I thought I was playing with a shortened driver but when I measure it from the base of the head to the tip of the grip it comes to 45". ALSO besides heads with bore through shafts, how far do they stick the shaft into the head on the regualr, non-bore through heads? like till it hits the bottom?

[iacas]

When they say 45" is the STANDARD length for men's drivers is that measurement of the shaft before it goes into the head? OR is the measurement taken from the base of the driver head (the part touching the ground) to the tip of the grip? or?

Heel (bottom) to top of grip. In other words, put the club on the ground in address position and then measure along the bottom of the shaft.

Some players are better served with a 44" driver, too. Don't necessarily think you need to use a 45. I don't know the answer to the second part - it's different with every driver.

[Maverick]

Erik, what is your driver length?

[iacas]

Erik, what is your driver length?

Heh heh heh heh.

Too big for you to handle. Nah, joking aside, it's 45. If you hit a 45" driver and you hit a lot of shots on the heel, or if you hit a 44 and take a lot of shots on the toe, switch. Swing (upright, flat) can have some effect too, but the kicker is usually ball-at-impact position.

[Maverick]

My current gamer is 44 3/4..practically 45..but I don't notice it being long..played fine with it today. Thanks for the info

[Joeyvee]

Heh heh heh heh.

Hmmm. i tend to miss and hit push slices sometimes and its always off of the toe. I actually hit the toe pretty frequently and I've always choked down an inch or so. And I was just about to chop my shaft to help accuracy.. Think I should lenthen it by not choking down?

it's a TM R7 Quad BTW. Looking up shaft length now. Kinda old so probably not one of the 46ers.

[JWL1957]

Do not always measure to the heel of the clubhead on todays drivers. You might end up with a club as much as 1/2" longer than you expected. The club should always be measured soled at the its correct manufactured lie. Alot of drivers today have rounded soles making the heel of the club actually sit higher off of the ground when the club is sitting at its correct lie angle. You would still use the heel of the club as a reference...... but just make sure the club is soled correctly and the measuring tool goes all the way past the heel to the floor. Most older drivers had fairly flat soles and measuring to the heel was pretty accurate and the standard way measuring..


Here is a example of a rounded sole and how the heel is in relation to the sole of the club:
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=...w=1003&bih;=478

[chilly]

I had trouble measuring clubs with rounded soles until I got a proper clublength ruler from Golfsmith. Sounds simple enough to measure, but holding the club and tape, and trying to measure a four foot long club...I was always a bit off. But as stated, it's from the sole to the end of the grip.

Every club is different, but a decent rule of thumb is that the shaft will be ~1.5" inserted into the clubhead. That will vary, but it's a good ballpark if you're buying a used shaft.

[ghalfaire]

Heel (bottom) to top of grip. In other words, put the club on the ground in address position and then measure along the bottom of the shaft.

Seems like most drivers are 46" these days or am I mistaken.

[duffer888]

Some measure with or without the grip as well.